Books (Ty, Ava and C.I.)

 

As we did in 2021, we're attempting to again increase book coverage in the community. After a review posts, we try to do a discussion with the reviewer.  This go round, we're talking to Ty about his "REBELS ON THE BACKLOT (Ty)."  The book's Sharon Waxman's REBELS ON THE BACKLOT: SIX MAVERICK DIRECTORS AND HOW THEY CONQUERED THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYSTEM.. You did not like the book?

Ty: No, it was poorly written for one thing.  I can pour over old issues of PREMIERE or MOVIELINE and enjoy them, they're well written.  I didn't like Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS: HOW THE SEX-DRUGS-AND-ROCK-'N'-ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD, but it was well written.  She writes like closed caption.  She has no style and no flair.  I'm going to steal from you, C.I., I think she tried to turn a phrase once, ended up on crutches and never tried again.  That really is her writing.  

And you found her a kiss up.

Ty: A huge kiss up.  I would recommend people stay away from the book.  She also is one of those women who hate women.

Good you picked up on that.

Ty: It's really hard to miss.  She's slamming women and over.  And she calls Sofia Coppola "plain."  First off, Sofia is very attractive.  Second, why is she rating Sofia's beauty to begin with?  She doesn't rate the beauty or lack of it when it comes to the directors she's writing about.  She gets in a slam at Winona Ryder and her looks.  One of her 'delightful director' lays on the ground to look up a woman's skirt and she finds that cute and charming.  That's why she's full of s**t by the way, when she claims she wanted to tell the truth about Harvey Weinstein but NYT wouldn't let her.  NYT had nothing to do with this bad book, she could write whatever she wanted.  But she talks about a man looking up a woman's skirt and doesn't call it out, doesn't note it's sexual harassment, just finds it cute.  I could go on and on but she's a horror show.

Is there anything you can recommend about the book?

Ty: Not really.  Go read Peter Biskind's book.  Better written and far nicer to women. 

She infantilizes Helena Bonhem Carter.

Ty: Yeah, she acts like 'little Helena' needed Mommy's permission to make FIGHT CLUB.  She wanted her mother's opinion, as a psychotherapist, of the script which a number of people had a problem with.  She also does a really bad job describing the casting of the film.  She seems to believe that talking to one person makes her an expert so if Fincher tells her something it's true.  She has no idea about Courtney Love being offered the role.  Or that Janeane Garofalo was cast and then lost the part because Edward Norton insisted Courtney Love get the role.  She knows nothing because her 'research' is worshiping at the feet of some male director.  

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Previous book discussions this year.

 

 

"Books (Rebecca, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Elaine, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.),"  "Books (Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Rebecca, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Ann, Mike, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Mike, Ava and C.I.),"  "Books (Ann, Elaine, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ann and C.I.)," "Books (Ruth, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Mike, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Rebecca, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Isaiah, Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Stan, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Kat, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Ann, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Trina, Ava and C.I.)," "Books (Marcia, Ava and C.I.)" and "Books (Ava and C.I.)."

 

 

 

 

REBELS ON THE BACKLOT (Ty)

Sharon Waxman is a holy terror to work for and supposedly another expose on that (a second one) is due shortly.  I note her because I read her awful book REBELS ON THE BACKLOT: SIX MAVERICK DIRECTORS AND HOW THEY CONQUERED THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYSTEM.  It's a really bad book.  It tries to be Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS: HOW THE SEX-DRUGS-AND-ROCK-'N'-ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD.  That 1998 film really undersold and ignored the contributions of women.  Sharon's 2005 book not only undersells and ignores the contributions of women, it also disrespects and degrades women.

You may remember Sharon's claim -- lie -- that she was already to expose Harvey Weinstein in 2004 but her mean, old employers -- THE NEW YORK TIMES -- wouldn't let her.  The paper even issued a statement noting that her claims were not true.

They shouldn't have issued the statement, they should have just referred everyone to her bad book.

She is an idiot and a fool and a suck up.  That's especially true when it comes to her writing about her beloved David O. Russell.

I'm not a George Clooney fan, sorry.  Don't care for him as an actor at all.  That said, he has a good reputation in the industry.  He's only had a problem with one director and that was Russell.  Despite that image and despite Russell's tantrums, Sharon sides with him over and over. 

That includes when he throws an extra on the ground. Sharon wants you to know that George made too much of it and that director Russell just wanted to show the extra how to slam Ice Cube.  

She's a suck up liar.  You don't throw an extra on the ground to show how you want the scene done unless you're a bully.

She then writes a tribute to I HEART HUCKABEES and how it was about peace and about Russell focusing on humanity because he was done with violence.

Stupid ____ says what?

We've all seen the leaked video, right?  He's attacking Lily Tomlin on the set.  He's screaming at her.  In one scene where she and Dustin are seated in a car, Russell's just cursing her out.  In another, on a set near a desk, he's screaming at her, yelling at her, throwing things, storming back and forth in front of the camera.

Russell was a terror on the set of THREE KINGS and George (and others) were right to call him out.

Sharon manages to blame George for that.  George kept talking about it to the press.  Years later, he'd still talk about it.

So what?

Russell was a terror, why wouldn't he continue to talk about it and call it out?

Besides, with Sharon Waxman refusing to call it out, who was going to?

She's a hack and you should be prepared because their is a journalist going around speaking to her employees and former employees currently.  (She long ago left NYT and now terrorizes employees at THE WRAP.)

Loser and Hate Merchant Riley Gaines (Dona)

"Riley Gaines: Most Sports Don't Protect Women"?  The headline to a segment on the propaganda network FOX BUSINESS -- where old men go to die on air.  

Riley Gaines is a failure as an athlete -- that's due to a poor record of competition and due to a really poor level of sportsmanship.  She's a hate merchant.  And she's a grifter.

It's time for women to band together -- especially those of us who played sports -- and reject her and her lies.

'Oh, I had to swim against a trans woman!'

What does the dumb idiot want?  A do-over?  

You swam.  You lost.  

Don't really care about you.

And Riley doesn't care about girls and women.

Reality: Girls' and women's sports are underfunded.  

I guess talking about that serious issue wouldn't get her on FOX "NEWS" and wouldn't have trash like Jonathan Turley rushing to defend her from one of her many made up 'attacks' that threatened her life.

40%.

That's the answer.  The question: How much college athletics funding goes to women's sports?

40%.

Is that equal?

No.

And that's what we need to be protesting and condemning.

Riley won't do that.  She can't do that.  The con artist would lose her base.

Her base, like Riley herself, pretends to care about girls' sports and women's sports but the reality is that they have never been -- and never will be -- willing to put their money where their mouth is.

They don't believe in females competing in sports.

That is, as C.I. pointed out in a gina & krista round-robin roundtable, why they make such an issue out of trans women in sports:  They don't respect women and they don't respect girls and they think that both need to be 'rescued' from trans women.  They think the girls and women are too delicate to compete against trans women.

It's part of the sexism that really feeds into transphobia.

These are the nutcases that Riley Gaines appeals to.  And she's no friend of any females competing in sports.  

We need more funding for school and university female sports.

That's for all girls and women and, yes, that includes trans girls and trans women.

That's the battle we should be fighting.

The 'battle' Riley's fighting is the one about defending 'the little woman' because she needs this and she needs that and hold her doors open and keep the trans women away.  We're not the weak figurines that right-wingers like Riley want to pretend we are.

 

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Illustration is Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY "Bigot Becky Barks."

Interpreting Headlines to save you reading time

THE MADDOW BLOG offered "Asked about shootings, new House speaker says 'it's not guns'."  Mike Johnson feels the dead in Maine were injured, not by bullets, but by ejaculate.  "It happens," Mike insists.  "I once had to wear an eye patch for six weeks."

RAW STORY headlines "'I love all people'; Mike Johnson says he doesn't remember many of his homophobic remarks."  Mike Johnson has spewed so much homophobic hate that even he can't remember all of it. 

WEALTHY LIVING headlines "'Gender Madness' Former Transgender Influencer Oli London Sparks Controversy -- Claims Gender-Affirming Ideology Harmful to Children."  In other words, the British freak who had plastic surgery to look like South Korean music star Jimin -- repeated plastic surgeries, actually -- the freak who was a public atheist and then suddenly Christian, the freak who insisted he was a transgender woman, the freak who dated a porn actress, the freak whose family hates him because of his 'racial identity' (the White man claims he's South Korean), the freak who is a racist (specifically his statements about the penis size of Asian men -- but there are so many racist remarks he's made), the freak who's released 19 singles and none of them ever charted,  the freak -- Just leave it there.  A freak needs to make money and he's burned all of his bridges so he's now grifting from the right wing since all other support dried up.  

 

QUEERITY provided the headline "An astonishing number of voters in Arkansas think Sarah Huckabee Sanders" -- and on news aggregators it stops there.  To save you a click, "is a man."  "An astonishing number of voters in Arkansas thin Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a man."  And, you know what, they are right. 

INTO headlines, "Candace Owens blasts two-spirit identities before claiming 'I have many gay fans'" so you don't have to click, many gay fans or at least a lot of people begging her to have a much needed make over.

 

THE DAILY MAIL runs with "Ron DeSantis insists he does NOT wear heels when asked about his boots: Florida governor says they are 'off the rack' and rejects questions sparked by viral clip"  to which we reply, "Off the rack?  What kind of straight man says his clothes are off the rack?"

 

 

 

 

Videos of the Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books

 

"Mafia Wives (Susan Williams' WHITE MALICE)" -- C.I. reviews this book.

 

 "The Sewing Circle" -- Marcia reads Axel Madsen's THE SEWING CIRCLE.

 

 "Ellen Sander's The Lifestyle That Classic Rock Unleashed" -- Trina reviews this book.

"Phyllis Diller 1917 – 2012: News, Quotes, Interview" -- Ann reviews this book.

"Call Her Heroic (Ava and C.I.)" -- Ava and C.I. review this book.

"Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Gays" -- Marcia reviews this book.

 

"Robert Sellers wrote a book of garbage" -- Kat reviews HOLLYWOOD HELLRAISERS.   

 

 

"SCREAM VI and THE BOYS" -- Stan reviews Ron and Clint Howard's THE BOYS.

 

 

"the world according to joan" -- Rebecca reviews this book.

 

 "Elton John and Whitney Houston" -- Kat reviews Elton John's autobiography and a biography on Whitney Houston.

"DON RICKLES: THE MERCHANT OF VENOM" -- Isaiah reviews this book.

 

"Crispy Calamari in the Kitchen" -- Trina reviews  AIR FRYER COOKBOOK FOR BEGINNERS: EFFORTLESSLY GRILL, ROAST AND BAKE HOMEMADE MEALS: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS WITH QUICK, TASTY & HEALTHY RECIPES.

 

 "Vincent Price and Universal" -- Marcia reviews John L. Flynn's 75 YEARS OF UNIVERSAL MONSTERS and Vincent Price's I LIKE WHAT I KNOW: A VISUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

 

"3 books to skip" -- Kat reviews  Bertill Nordahl's CAT SEVENS, CARLY SIMON AND LEONARD COHEN AND ALL THE OTHERS, David Redford's NEIL& JONI: 2 LIVES, 21 ALBUMS and Ellen Sanders' ROCK AND ROLL WOMENHOOD: CASS ELLIOT, GRACE SLICK, LINDA RONSTADT, FANNY AND MORE.

 

"THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY" -- Mike reviews Elizabeth Kolbert's THE SIXTH EXTINCTION: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY.

"Paul Kupperberg's DIRECT CONVERSTIONS: TALKS WITH FELLOW DC COMICS BRONZE AGE CREATORS" -- Isaiah reviews this book.

 

"JOAN BAEZ: THE LAST LEAF" -- Ruth reviews  this book by Elizabeth Thomas.

 

 "A JOYOUS TRANSFORMATION: THE UNEXPURZGATED DIARY OF ANAIS NIN, 1966 -1977" -- Ruth reviews a book by Anais Nin.

 

"An aging queen writes a bitter book about The Way We Were" -- Marcia reviews a bad book about THE WAY WE WERE.

 

 

"Travis Stewart's bad book supposedly on Stevie Nicks" -- Kat reviews a bad book supposedly about Stevie Nicks.

 

"Austin Breakfast Tacos: The Story of the Most Important Taco of the Day"-- Trina strongly recommends this cookbook.

"GET LOST" -- Isaiah looks at this comic magazine

"Lucille Ball and HERE'S LUCY" -- Stan reads up on the second half of Lucille Ball's life.

"Melody Thomas Scott's Always Young and Restless: M..." -- Ann reviews this autobiography.

"ROCK AND ROLL NIGHTMARES" -- Elaine reviews this book about crime in the music world. 

"ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN" -- Kat reviews this book about the Mamas & the Papas.

"SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKIND" -- Mike reviews a science book.

"Stephen Rebello's DOLLS! DOLLS! DOLLS: DEEP INSIDE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, THE MOST BELOVED BAD BOOK AND MOVIE OF ALL TIME" -- Stan reviews a book about the making of VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.

 "Elizabeth Taylor -- two books" -- Ruth covers Katy Holborn's ELIZABETH TAYLOR: AN ELIZABETH TAYLOR BIOGRAPHY and Gian-Luca di Rocco's WOMEN IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: CHARTING SOCIETAL PROGRESS THROUGH THE FILMS OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND JANE FONDA 1944-1981.

 

"Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins" -- Ann reviews a biography about Anthony Perkins.

 

 "Andrea Warner's BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY" -- Mike wonders why he bothered to read this book?

"Worst summer read ever is by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince" and "'the fondas: henry, jane and peter' is a very bad book" -- Marcia and Rebecca review Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince's THE FONDAS: HENRY, JANE AND PETER.

 

"Cookbooks and Air Fryer Cauliflower in the Kitchen" -- Trina reviews two cookbooks.

 

"Do not read ENDLESS HIGHWAY at AMAZON" -- Isaiah lays it out for AMAZON's KINDLE. 

 

 "Naomi Klein's DOPPELGANGER" -- C.I. reviews Naomi Klein's latest book.

 

 "Demetrius Sherman's BLACK COMIC BOOK HISTORY" -- Isaiah reviews a book about the history of comic books.

"Stefan Kanfer's Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball" -- Marcia reads up on one of her favorite entertainers. 

"Anne Edwards is a waste of time and a killer of trees" -- Elaine reviews Anne Edwards' A REMARKABLE WOMAN: A BIOGRAPHY OF KATHARINE HEPBURN.  

"Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES" -- Elaine reviews Howard Zinn's book.

" robert dance - a lousy writer - knows damn little about joan crawford" -- Rebecca reviews a really lousy book about Joan Crawford. 

 

"REBELS ON THE BACKLOT (Ty)" -- Ty reviews a book by a lousy writer.

 

 

 

 

 

2023 passings

These are the deaths community members found worth noting this year.

 

Lisa Presley -- Elaine noted her passing.

Christine McVie -- Kat covered her passing.

 

Adam Rich -- Marcia noted his passing.

 

Jeff Beck -- Kat noted his passing.

 

Lance Kerwin -- Rebecca noted his passing.

Barrett Strong -- Ruth noted his passing.

 

Lisa Loring -- Rebecca noted her passing.

 

Burt Bacharach -- Rebecca noted his passing.

 

Raquel Welch -- Elaine noted her passing.

 

Stella Stevens  -- Rebecca noted her passing.

 

Richard Belzer -- Ruth noted his passing.  

 

Kevin Alexander Gray -- C.I. notes his passing.

 

Pat Schroeder -- Kat noted her passing.

 

Lance Reddick -- Mike notes his passing.  

 

Darcelle XV -- Elaine notes his passing.

 

"Mark Russell" -- Ruth notes his passing 

 

"Elizabeth Hubbard" -- Trina notes her passing.

 

"Mary Quant and more Peabody nominations" -- Elaine notes a passing.

 

"Harry Belafonte" -- Kat notes a passing.

"Gordon Lightfoot" -- Kat notes a passing.

 

"jacklyn zeman, rose schlossberg, john travolta and..." -- Rebecca notes the passing of Jacklyn Zeman.

 

"Iraq snapshot," "Tina Turner (1939 to 2023)," "The groundbreaker Tina Turner," "Tina Turner," "Lauren Boebert gets burned by AOC," "MAX and NETFLIX, Eva Longoria," "Tina Turner, Eric Swalwell, John Roberts," "They've ruined their reputation," "Hate merchant Tulsi Gabbard," "tina turner passed but the hideous gop lingers," "Tina " and "The wrong people are dying" -- The community notes the passing of Tina Turner.

 

 "Gay actor George Maharis has died" -- Stan notes the passing. 

"10 great songs that Cynthia Weil co-wrote" and "Cynthia Weil" -- Marcia and Kat note Cynthia Weil's passing.

"Hate merchant Pat Robertson has passed away" -- Kat notes the end of Pat Robertson.

"Glenda Jackson" -- Ruth notes the actress's passing.

 

 

"Iraq snapshot" -- C.I. notes the passing of Daniel Ellsberg.

 

"Andrea Evans" -- Kat notes the passing of a soap opera icon. 

 

"Tony Bennett" -- Kat notes the passing of a great singer.

 

"Paul Reubens," "Pee-Wee's Big Holiday" and "One more time on Pee-Wee Herman" -- Betty and Marcia note the passing of Paul Reubens.

"Robbie Robertson" -- Kat covers the passing.

 "David Jacobs" -- Kat notes the passing of a TV creator. 

 

"Arleen Sorkin" -- Marcia notes the passing of a voice, sitcom and daytime TV actress.

 

"billy miller has passed away" -- Rebecca notes a passing. 

"DiFi dies" -- Betty notes the passing of an elderly fool.

"David McCallum led a long life" -- Stan notes the passing of an actor who starred in two huge TV shows. 

 

"rudolph isley " -- Rebecca notes the passing of a music legend.

 

"Phyllis Coats -- TV's original Lois Lane" -- TV's first Lois Lane remembered by Kat.

 

"Piper Laurie" -- Marcia remembers the late actress.

"Suzanne Somers" -- Isaiah notes the significance of Suzanne Somers.

 

 "Mailbag" -- noting the passing of Mark Goddard.

 "lara parker" -- Rebecca covers the passing of Lara Parker.

 

"Carla Bley" -- Marcia notes the passing of a jazz pioneer.

 

"Gregg Sutton" -- Kat notes the passing of a musician.

 

 "Matthew Perrry" -- Ruth notes the passing of a sitcom star.

 

 

 

 

Tweet of the week

 

HA! https://t.co/IJAZc3SoGX

— Luqman Nation Media (@luqmannation1) November 1, 2023